Footwear



July 7, 1925.

. A. L. AUSTIN FOCTWEAR Filed Jan. 1 2

' Patented July 7, 1925.

-UNITED STATES LPATENT OFFICE.

ALBERT L. AUSTIN, OF CLEVELAND, OHIO.

FOOTWEAR.

Application filed Ianuary 1921. Serial No. 434,824.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that -I, ALarm'r L. AUs'rIN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Cleveland, in the county of Cuyahoga and State of Ohio, have invented certam new and useful Improvements in Footwear, of

and the phalanges or bones of the toes while at the same time maintaining and supporting the normal arch of the foot and reventing any impairment or breaking own of such arch.

A further object is to improve the con-- struction and arrangement of the foot heel the shoe or boot thru the provision of a concave recess or pocket in t e top ofthe shoe or boot heel, said recess or pocket being preferably sha ed to conform to the contour of the bee portionof the foot thereby giving eflicient support to the heel and being arranged below the horizontal plane of} the shank or arch su porting portion of the shoe, the tendency of the foot to move forward' in the shoe is counteracted. Furthermore, by this arrangement the extreme forward portion of the arch supporting member of the reinforcement may be shortened,

as contradistinguished from the ordinary.

arch support, to a point at or near the base portions of the metatarsusbones thereby permitting afree and unimpaired movement for the latter and the phalanges.

A further and very important object of the invention is the provision of a enerally improved arch'and heel support or footwear, which may be either formed as a part of and as a reinforcement for shoes or boots as originally manufactured, or as an auxiliary or additional appliance in lieu of the ordinary arch support and as an improvement thereon.

With the above mentioned and other ends in view, the inventionconsists in the novel construction, arrangement and combination of parts, hereinafter described, illustrated in one of its embodiments in the accompanymg drawings and particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

Referrmg to the drawings, forming a part of thls specification, Figure 1 is a longitudinal sectlonal view of a shoe constructed in accordance with this invention, and. em-' bodymg my improved arch and heel support as an internal reinforcement.

Fig. 2, a top plan view of the improved arch and heel sup rt, detached.-

Fig. 3, a'side e evation or edge view of the same.

Similar numerals of reference desi nate hke parts thruout all 'the figures o the drawings.

The gpneral form. of the boot or' shoe, except as ereinafter referred to in connection with any improved construction and arrangement of parts, may be of any suitable and convenient construction. The term shoe as hereinafter referred to is understood to include a boot and in which similar parts and'features may be included.

In carrying'out my invention, I provide the top or upper portion of, the heel 1, with a concaved pocket or cup-shaped recess 1,

preferably conformed in outline to the general' contour of the normal foot heel and adapted inparticular to' receive and support the 0s calcis or heel bone 1". When theshoe is thus formed the shank portion 1, of the shoe, is given a more arched form and such shank or arched portion 1, of the shoe, in conjunction with the form of the heel referred to, is better adapted to support the bones of the foot comprised in the tarsus and metatarsus groups in-proper relative position, as will clearly appear upon reference to Fig. 1 of the drawings.

. As a means of'providing a suitable arch and heel support for the foot, and articularly as a means of reinforcing a s 0e and causing the same to retain the form above described, a relatively rigid reinforcement,

single blank of metal When used as a reinforcement and as a part of the shoe as originally manufactured,

the support or reinforcement is preferably interposed between the innersole l, and the outer sole 1, as shown in Fig. 1 ofthe drawings, or may be otherwise incorporated therein, and in such instance the marginal edges 2 of the support may be sufliciently spaced from the marginal-attached edges of the shoe upper as not to interfere with the sewing or fastening operationf If desired, the support or reinforcement may be initially secured in the shoe thru the medium ofsuitable nails or fastening elements passed thru the openings 2 (see Fig. 2), in the heel and arch supporting members of the su ort.

It will be 0 served that the heel and arch supporting portions or members 2 and 2, are curved both longitudinally and transversely, thus conforming to and supporting the normal transverse arch of the tarsus. and metatarsus bones.

When it is desired to use the arch and heel support as a substitute for and an improvement on the ordinary arch support, the

I upper top portion of the heel 1, will necesrecess 1, by means of a suitable tool, or the heel may be rebuilt in the form substantially indicated in Fig. 1 of the drawings.

Having thus described one of the embodiments of my invention, without having attempted to set forth all the forms in which it may be made or all the modes of its use, what I claim and desire to secure by' Letters Patent, is, 1. Asupport' for use in shoes, embodying reversely arranged longitudinally and transversely curved arch and heel supporting members having their edges exten ing in approximately the same plane.

2. A shoe including an arched portion and a heel the latter being provided with a cupshaped heel receiving recess in its top extending below said arched portion and forming a heel seat, and ametallic reinforcement embodying reversely arran ed longitudi-. nally and transverse y curve arch and heel supporting members having their edges extending in approximately the same plane fitting said arched portion and heel seat.

In testimony whereof I have aflixed my signature. Y I

ALBERT L. AUSTIN. 

